Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1887-03-27

I"
well worn. 1t did good service for u lons
time, and was stretched a good deal son
times to fit anybody wearing store clothes
This general application OF the term ma
had a good effect. 1t has frightened gooo
many men out Ofloudness or extravaganza
in dress. No honest man wants TO Dt
| called a dude, and will draw the line 8
shade or two closer to avoid the possibility
of receiving the title. or course,
real dude admires the title
he rlories in his infamy. The
| Dudus BritdnnicUs, the original dude,
the creator of the role, the master hand al
the whole dude business. can never be APP
preached by any foreign variety i'll a Ger
tain perfection of arrogance and polished
absurdity. The DNdHS Americdaus is at
his best merely 4 secondhand affair, Il
feeble reflection of the British variety, so
that in this country the a%ppellatlon has
really been much abused. In the interests
of linguistic purity this abuse should
never have been allowed, but rs the term
has served that good purpose OF trlghten-
inu dressy men out OF reckless habits, no
one need say that its deSpotic application
has not, after all, been something OF "A
blessing.
The misfortune is, if may be permitted
TO timidly make the suggestion, that no
such rebuke has been manufactured for
use in preventing the ladies from adding
new gr0tesQueness to their already abused
habits of dress. All ordinary and merely
human methods of rehuking tue ladies
have long since failed. The most ardent
dress relurmers now write i'll q feeble, de
spairing, broken hearted fashion. Nobody
seriously believes that the ladies will
actually consent to recognize any of these
appeals. II only someone might create 4
means OF laughing the ON out OF thelr
ecccntricitieS the whole matter might be
settled. But the world has been laughing
at women's dress for Il good many years,
and who can SAY that feminine attire Is
any more sensible now than in Queen
Elilabeth's day-with the possible eXcep'
ton of Observation-Disclosures?
But to CONF back 10 the dude, or what
there is left of him, is he, as L distinct Ell
tiny, disappearing? Of course, the dude
order of being can never lose its essential
characteristics, but the question is whether
or not the dude as he has been known Is
not in a period of transition, is not i'm
preceptibly but certainly cvolutlng into
something which will require, by virtue
new characteristics, n different and more
descriptive designation. 1t can never he
too seriously regretted that the late
lamented Mr.. Darwin did not live to give
this matter his attention. 1t is all very
well to dwell upon the abstract features
of mammalia, and to discuss with
great minuteness the features
of change in obscure and, to my mind, un-
interesting living creatures in the animal
world, hut the human donkey ought GER
tainly to be considered rs demanding rs
conscientious analysis rs any other genus.
If the dude is on the point of becoming
something else, is not the matter Of the
highest importance? Anybody who has
paid the slightest attention to the dude
question can testify that some very i'm
portant notifications of the original form
have occarred. One by one, in the cut of
coat, of trousers, of "waiStcoat, y of walk
ing stick, the distinguishing elements have
been disappearing. Scarcely any OF the
original charactes now remain unimpaired
except the eye glass, the collar and the
facial vacancy.
But after all a dude by any other name
would he Just rs funny.
Our young society maidens are now Oc-
cupied and have been for a week or so past
in designing and constructing Easter Coz
tunes that will be at once pretty and
striking. But | should not restrict this
womanly duty and pleasure to maldenS
alone. Oi course the married ladies are
also engaged in the same commendable
occupation. Being unmarried, it is easy
enough to say commendable. But woman
is made to look pretty and the p~rettler she
looks the more credit she draws and natu-
rally the more admiration is bestowed
upon her. Easter day is the most auspi-
ciOus one oil the year for ladies to flash new
and beautiful costumes upon the eyes of
their friends; ond must | say 1.-THE
churches are pretty generally appropriated
10 the use of the ladies on that day, and
if one can take y birds eye
view of a fashionable church
during the service on Easter
day his eye is RECALLED with q ravishing
display of female beauty decked out in
bewitching costumes and little ducks of
bonnets. And this reminds me that !
heard q young married man singing a
popular air the other day in a quiet under
tone, but he inadvertently changed the
words and the burden of his song seemed
10 be ''Oh the bills, the milliner's bills. "
After the Easter bills come in he will no
doubt be singing 1T fortiSdmo in high G.
But for fear | am bringing ont the sad
side of the subject will drop it,
Socially Wheeling has been rather dull
the past week, no event of great moment
having occurred TO disturb the religious
stiffness of the Lenten season. Several
parties and two fashionable musical events
have taken place, which are spoken of he
low.
On Tuesday evening Miss Nan Fisher
acted hostess in 4 very charming way at
the residence of her father, Hon. Benz.
Fisher, on Fourteenth street, the occasion
being a delightful little reception and hop
given to a number of her young lady and
gentlemen friends. Cards and dane
ing were both on the programme,
but Preseason Charlie Killmeyer's music
was irresistible and dancing naturally pre-
dominated. The merry making was dis
turbed abOut 1870 O'Clock, however, al
though very agreeably by the serving OF
most delicious refreshments of q nature to
be most highly enjoyed by all, and it is
useless to state that they were. After a